Hearts On Fire

Separate Ways Together

Imagine Person A being angry and screaming and Person B strokes their hair/head and says "Shhh...".

The air was tense and fraught, neither person spoke to the other and instead pretended to be consumed by their individual tasks. Danny stood at the stove and stirred the soup slowly, Jessica sat behind him at the breakfast bar, apparently absorbed in the letter she was writing. No one had made a sound for almost an hour.

Once he was happy with the consistency of his broth, Danny poured two generous portions into two matching bowls and turned to place one down in front of Jessica and the other in the empty space next to her. He put a small plate of bread rolls in between them and took his seat, picking up his spoon and blowing on its contents before raising it to his lips.

Jessica ignored her bowl. She hunched over her pad of paper and scribbled furiously. The clock on the wall behind them ticked loudly, that, and the sound of Jessica's biro scratching at the sheet, were the only sounds that resounded in the entire apartment.

The breakfast bar was made of black marble, which was complimented by the perfect whiteness of the wooden units. It was a crisp, tidy space, full of the most brilliant light and then brooding darkness, depending on the positioning of the sun in the sky. There was no dining table, the apartment was clearly a space designed for adults. Though the spare room was known to play host to two younger visitors from time to time. However their grandmother preferred to take them to her alternate residence out of the city or, failing that, care for them at their own cosier home in Rhode Island.

Danny diligently ate his soup and a couple of bread rolls. He glanced to his left every so often but Jessica continued to ignore his presence and that of her dinner. But this wasn't something that seemed to bother him a great deal as he stood to load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen surfaces. When he was satisfied with his work, he turned to leave the kitchen.

"Don't walk away," Jessica finally spoke, her tone was stark.

"What do you want me to do then? Danny questioned, exasperated.

"Don't mock me."

"I'm not mocking you. I'm just trying to work out what the hell I did so wrong."

"You booked us those tickets...you didn't even ask..."

"Is that it?" Danny asked. "All this because I booked us a flight?"

"It's not the flight, it's what it means."

Danny frowned and moved so he was standing on the kitchen end of the breakfast bar, facing Jessica squarely. She had given up on her letter and was clenching her stomach, knowing that at any moment it would reveal how much she wanted the soup she had been so desperately ignoring. Her head was down and she refused to meet Danny's stare. His anger was palpable but she knew she could more than match it.

"Right, so what the fuck do these flights mean?" he demanded, frustrated by the guessing game he had been reduced to playing.

Her eyes were steely and she clenched her fists in her lap. She shook her head as she began to speak:

"It's a control thing isn't it? You think that now I'm yours you can do this to me. You can fly me across the country just because it suits you. Just because I'm so desperately in love with you, I should follow you everywhere like a besotted little puppy."

Danny stood perfectly still, stunned at the information he had just received. Jessica looked up and stared him out. The air stung with the accusation she had held back all day. The silences and the huffs of irritation had rapidly expanded as the hours passed, getting tighter and tighter in her chest until that moment.

He ran his hand wearily across his forehead and let his gaze drift to the clock behind her.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.

"It's what I think, Danny, it's what I know."

"You clearly don't because those weren't my intentions at all. I would never do that to you. That's what you should know."

Jessica stood abruptly and crossed the kitchen. She selected a drying glass from the draining board and filled it with water from the tap. She took a large gulp and poured the rest down the drain. She then took to pacing in front of the darkened window. Danny shook his head in disbelief and claimed the stool she had just vacated. He went along with the resumed silence for a while, convinced she would recognise the absurdity of the claims and the unjust reaction she had to what he thought was a generous gesture.

"I don't want to control you, Jess," he finally said, looking to calm her. "I love you."

"You knew I had plans with Walker!" Jessica's abrupt shout reverberated around them, causing Danny to jump at her unexpected volume. "You knew it was set for months, just me and him, and you booked those stupid fucking tickets anyway!"

"Jessica!" Danny yelled back.

He stood and joined her in the window, standing directly in her path, knowing she would have no choice but to stop and listen to him.

"I forgot you had plans with Walker. You know that. I keep telling you that. I booked the tickets because you quite clearly need a break. Look at you."

Jessica's eyes flashed and she opened her mouth to release another surge of fury, when Danny placed his thumb on her forehead, in the space directly between her eyebrows and stopped her dead in her tracks. He lingered on her smooth patch of skin for a moment before moving to stroke his fingers across her brow. He then swept the back of his pointer finger over her eyelashes and settled his hand in her hair, cupping the left side of her head.

"Shhh," he soothed.

He continued to cradle her head and placed his right hand on her back, in between her tensed shoulder blades.

"I'll take one of the tickets and go out there anyway. You need some space. Just you and your boy."

Jessica nodded and sniffed, still unwilling to break her steely composure.

"Come on," Danny said. He untangled himself from her curls and drew her into his chest.

Jessica remained rigid but wound her arms loosely around his waist. Danny smirked to himself, knowing he was out of the danger zone, knowing she was just as relieved by their embrace as he was.

"I'm tired," Jessica said.

"You're exhausted," Danny corrected.

"We'll be okay."

"We'll always be okay. This is life."

They stood together, enthralled with each other and allowed the silence to lull their hammering hearts.

After a while, Danny prised her off him and reheated Jessica's soup. He set her up at the counter and watched as she devoured every mouthful.

"Thank you Danny," she said. "I'm sorry."

"You've no reason to be sorry, sweetheart."